


You Treat Me Like A Stranger

by deliciousmutton



Category: Brighthearth, Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work, The KBCU (Kris Brain Cinematic Universe)
Genre: I've never used AO3 before I'm still figuring this out, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:20:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26364082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deliciousmutton/pseuds/deliciousmutton
Summary: Aureli is looking to push their own boundaries in order to court the mysterious new Ambassador, Dante, in their cousin's court. However, are they able to confront their own jealousy in order to let Dante in?
Relationships: Danteli, Original D&D Character(s)/Original D&D Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	You Treat Me Like A Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a Dungeons and Dragons game that I run and includes one of my player's PC (Aureli) and my NPC (Dante).

Aureli quietly shut the cellar door behind them. Cousin wouldn’t notice one of the vintages being gone. It wasn’t a top-shelf bottle, third-rate at best. There’s dust on the label, even. No one will miss it. Aureli gleamed, sneaking into the wine cellar and snatching some wine was not their usual evening activity but, now that they are thinking of it, these last few weeks with Dante have changed Aureli’s nightly habits a lot. Aureli tucked the bottle into their robe. They wouldn’t be caught dead wandering the halls of the palace in their housecoat but now, in the dead of night, as the sounds of the breeze gently rolled around the palace’s interior pillars, the housecoat was hiding more than just a bottle of wine. The silk chiffon of their outfit was barely visible which, for Aureli’s purposes, was perfect. Aureli grew warm thinking of the look on Dante’s face when he unwrapped them like a present. Then he would… Aureli snapped back to reality. They didn’t need to daydream, they just needed to get to Dante’s room and everything would sort itself out. They pulled their housecoat a little tighter to their frame and walked faster. 

There was something so exciting about sneaking through the palace at night to meet Dante. It’s not as if what the two of them had been up to was wrong or, for that matter, secret, however, Aureli couldn’t help but enjoy the thought of it. There was something romantic about weaving through lesser-used hallways in an effort to get to him. The chill of the bottle translated into a shiver through Aureli. The night air wasn’t much help either. Soon enough, they could produce the bottle from their robe and then reduce the robe from the rest of them. Then they could… Aureli could feel their pace starting to slow again. They shook their head and cleared their throat. What should they say to him? ‘Surprise, I brought you a present and then I brought you a gift’? No, maybe a little forward. There is fun in the lead-up. ‘I thought we could share this before we shared each other’? No,  _ still _ a little forward. It’s clear what Aureli had on the mind. How could they not? They were the palace prude before all this. Now they were the palace… something. They weren’t sure if having a romp with Dante was something uncommon enough to give them a particular name.

Before long, the unassuming door of Dante’s chambers was sitting right in front of Aureli. They paused for a moment. They listened to see if they could hear Dante behind the door. He always seemed to be up when Aureli was up. Dante seemed to be kept up by certain wants at the same time as Aureli. They couldn’t make out any definitive noise of his. For how boisterous he was in the court, he had his moments of quiet. Times where he would sit in contemplation and scribble into a journal, times where he would look Aureli up and down, taking in everything, before responding, times where they could look at one another and say all that needed to be said with a few smiles. They drew the bottle of wine from their coat, making an effort to have the sash of their robe sit only barely on top of their waist, being held up by little more than hope. They raised a hand and tapped the door with purpose. After the first knock, the door opened. Dante was standing in the door frame but looked surprised to see them.

“Oh, love. What brings you about at this ungodly hour?” His face only showed surprise for a moment, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, before shifting into his usual cocky stare. “Am I haunting your dreams now too and not just your palace?” Dante shifted his weight and Aureli could more clearly see him in the moonlight. He wasn’t wearing anything but didn’t act as if he noticed. Aureli felt more naked in their chiffon than he felt in nothing.

“Afraid not. I do have important court business, however.” Aureli gave the bottle a shake and lifted it for him to see. He took the bottle from them and read over the label.

“I see. And the Jarl approved this expenditure?” Dante set the wine down on a nearby end table. Dante’s eyes lifted from the label to catch Aureli’s. “There must be a very important dignitary coming to visit.”

“You could say that.” Aureli pressed a finger onto Dante’s throat, running down to his collarbone. His chest showed signs of their last encounter, little black and purple splotches dotted across him. Aureli couldn’t help but feel proud of their handiwork. However, not all of the marks on him were Aureli’s. Some of his piercings were slightly raised and swollen with their own little rings of purple on his skin. There were dull, hard to see, lines from fingernails across his ribs. A bite mark on his hip that looked like it had only recently stopped bleeding.

They had never discussed monogamy and Aureli was well aware of Dante’s habits, however, it still caused a bit of a lump in their throat. They were going to prove to Dante that anyone else didn’t matter. They let their finger trace down his torso until they grabbed his cock. Aureli leaned into Dante and tried to stand a little above him.

“I hear they are a tough negotiator. You are going to have to work it out of them.” Aureli cooed into his ear.

Dante laughed and leaned back into Aureli, kissing them, and letting out a moan under his breath. They could feel him growing hard in their hand. Aureli began to tighten their grip along his shaft but before they could get any further, Dante pulled out of their kiss and placed a hand on their chest.

“Love, you know I’m not one to say no to you, and I certainly am not right now, but could you give me, let’s say, an hour?” He stroked Aureli’s chest for a moment before leaning back into them. “Then I can sort out this troublesome dignitary.” He chuckled and bit his bottom lip. “I’m dying for a bit of… international relations.”

Aureli could feel their steam starting to die out. They had worked themselves up for the better part of the night for this moment. They didn’t want to lose the progress they had made. “I don’t know if our dignitary is that patient.” Aureli tried to keep things rolling. “They are one of our most important partners. You wouldn’t want to risk upsetting them, would you?” Aureli tightened their grip, almost uncomfortably. “Who knows what the consequences could be?”

Dante’s closed his eyes and his mouth opened, but no sound came out. His look wasn’t of shock, but it was something approximating that. Either way, he was clearly enjoying it. He let his cock slide further into Aureli’s hand, reaching the base. He opened his eyes and looked at Aureli with his eyebrows raised. He bit his lip once more and looked as if he was going to say something that would have torn the rest of Aureli’s clothes off for them, but, he hesitated. He laughs and once again puts his hand on Aureli’s chest and distances himself a little.

“Seriously, love. I need a little bit. Just an hour, and then I’ll solve this little embargo you seem to be suggesting.” Dante didn’t make an effort to completely separate himself from Aureli, however.

They stood there, still gripping onto him, but at a loss as to what they could say to get things started again. There was a distinctive sound of bare feet slapping across the marble flooring coming from down the hall. Aureli turned their head to the source of the noise and saw a woman walking quickly, head lowered, in their direction. She only looked up for a moment as she got to Dante’s door. He leaned back into his room and grabbed a neatly arranged stack from a table near his doorway. A pair of sandals, a pair of shorts, two hair clips, and a bracelet. She grabbed the stack from him wordlessly and only passed a glance at Aureli. She was beet red. She slid her sandals on mid-walk and disappeared further into the palace.

Aureli is stunned. Their housecoat, falling down their shoulders, was only being supported by the good graces of whatever deity sees over these kinds of things. They didn’t move an inch and tried to process what they were feeling. They want him, that’s apparent, and they aren’t necessarily upset with him for being with someone else but there is something about this moment, this particular space in time, in which it hurts.

“Did you see her? You’d think she was a tiefling with how crimson she was!” Dante giggled at his joke. “Good thing I don’t get embarrassed. Who knows what shade  _ I’d _ turn.”

Aureli isn’t really listening to him right now. They swallow and refocus on Dante. “There, she’s gone. You have time now.” Aureli winces internally at how their words sound. It sounds so… desperate. “Now let me in.”

“Aureli, an hour. Less, even. I can be quick.” his voice softens and gets a little quieter. He tries to position himself in front of the doorway, taking up as much space as he can. “Please.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” They don’t shove their way into his room, but they aren’t necessarily gentle. Dante doesn’t resist and lets Aureli in. Someone else is laying in Dante’s bed, sleeping. They can’t make out who exactly, but it doesn’t matter. They can feel a pit rising in their stomach, like some mass of negativity has just welled up and is trying to force its way out of their mouth.

“I didn’t want you to see.” Dante is sombre.

Their breathing quickens and they turn on their heels to walk out. At first, they don’t want to know who it is. One less face to see in the palace and feel conflicted about. They change their mind almost immediately and turn back to Dante in the hallway.

“Who-”

“Terenas. The new sommelier.”

“He just-”

“Two days ago, yeah.”

“And you just-”

“He asked me. I did zero provoking of my own.”

Aureli pulled their robe together and fastened the sash tightly at their waist. They want to be angry. To stir up the rest of the palace, to wake up Terenas, to toss Dante’s room in a fervour.

“So you just did anyways? Told him to spread his legs and get it over with?”

“I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to.” Dante crossed his arms.

“You aren’t the only one in this partnership, Dante.”

“Neither are you.” He pointed with his chin down the hallway. “Or her.” He tilted his chin back into his room. “Or him.”

Aureli reeled from his comment. They consider hitting him. How could he say something like that to them? They decide against it. Aureli straightens their back.

“Keep the wine. Your sommelier will love it.” They walk away before the hot, stingy, tears start to streak down their cheeks.

“Aureli, wait, I’m sorry. Wait! Aureli!” Dante yells after them but they keep their pace down the hallway. Something in Aureli hopes that he will chase after them but they know he won’t. He doesn’t. They can hear the sound of his door click shut.

They feel so stupid. How could they ever let him occupy so much of their time like that? They spent the entire day and the entire night thinking of him, planning for him, accommodating for him, and he couldn’t even find twenty minutes. They laugh at themselves incredulously between haggard breaths. Dante made them feel so special but he didn’t see them as any more important than anyone else. The things Aureli had done for him, had given to him, had  _ given up _ to him. If Aureli was a visiting dignitary, this would have been an act of war. They couldn't get to their room fast enough. They wanted to slam their door shut and make a ruckus, let everyone know who exactly did this to them, scream it to the high heavens. 

Maybe Cousin could get rid of him. They are fucking royalty and who is Dante? A smooth talker who strolled in off the street? What are his qualifications? A pair of wandering hands and a pierced cock? It makes one wonder how he got here in the first place. When's the last time he ever told a whole truth? How could he ever be trusted? The obvious answer is that he can't be. Aureli knew well, first-hand experience. They grabbed one of their overstuffed pillows and shoved it against their face to scream. They screamed until their throat went hoarse and then screamed a bit more.

They weren't always like this. Even after meeting Janus, they weren't like this. But travelling with the party, flexing their magic, seeing the depths of their power, it made them feel the most empowered they've felt in a long time. Similarly, it made them feel like they are always hovering over the edge of something. Between power and weakness, between confidence and passivity, between stability and volatility. Aureli felt like they were caught between two extremes, without space in the middle. Between demure Aureli, composed Aureli, Royal Aureli, and… current Aureli. 

They kept the pillow pressed to their face and dropped onto their bed. They could feel red-hot tears pooling at the edges of their eyes and they let that feeling drift them off to unconsciousness.

\---------------------------

They slept in the next morning. Whether it was the late-night or the intense emotions was unclear, but it exhausted Aureli nonetheless. It was early afternoon when they got up. The court had begun the day’s activities but had left Aureli alone. Word must have travelled quickly so that no one would have come in to get Aureli for breakfast. They were hungry. Someone should have left something outside their door. Aureli righted themselves. They were still in last night's outfit. They could change later. For now, a meal.

They cracked open the door, to ensure a passing servant or handmaid wouldn't see them in something that was barely there. No meal outside however, there was Dante. He was dressed in a purple and silver outfit, keeping with standard Blithe wear, it was airy and open. For Dante, it would have been relatively reserved had he not linked most of his facial and horn piercings together with lengths of gold chain. Aureli wanted to call him a chandelier but held their tongue. They tried to close the door but Dante caught it.

"Can we chat?" He sounded serious. Very out of character for him.

"Inside."

Dante walked inside with purpose, not his usual flitty gait, but a focused, directed, walk. He grabbed a seat in one of the chairs. Aureli stood by the now-closed door.

"What do you want." Aureli's words were cold, distant.

"I want to talk."

"Then talk."

"Look, it was never my intention to hurt you. I didn't expect you last night and I try to keep everyone separate from one another."

"Mm. And I'm just another one of your people."

"That’s not what I said. I thought it was fairly apparent where I am at with monogamy."

"You were."

"So… so what's our issue here then? Aureli, I kind of feel like I'm just talking at you and we aren't having a conversation."

"I have lots of conversations, what makes this one so special?"

"Aureli."

"What?" They hissed.

Dante stood from his chair and moved towards Aureli. "Is that what this was about? Do you feel like I don't care about you?" Dante was hushed, soft-spoken, and it took Aureli a second to realize they had given up the plot. They wanted to make Dante squirm a little more.

"I thought it was fairly apparent."

"Aureli I--"

"Oh," Aureli interrupted, "sorry, time's up. Maybe I'll have some time for you in a few hours" they stood behind the door while they opened it. Dante put a hand on the door and pushed it closed gently. Aureli didn't fight to keep the door open.

"Aureli, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you feel like that. I thought I was protecting you. The last thing I want is to hurt you."

Aureli didn't know how to respond. They were looking for a fight and Dante didn't seem willing to follow along. Plus, this was maybe the most genuine emotion they had felt from him. Was this the truth? It was hard to tell with Dante where truth started and ended. They felt their wall drop a little regardless.

"But you did. A lot. It took a lot for me to muster up the courage to put this on, let alone run through the halls in it." Aureli gestured to their outfit.

"And I appreciate that! I was trying my best to show you my appreciation when you knocked on my door but I was… indisposed… at that moment."

"But you couldn't invite me in."

"There… was someone else in my bed, I just--"

"When has that stopped you before?"

"It hasn't, but I didn't take you for the menage-á-trois type, Aureli"

Shit. Dante was right. They've made a lot of jumps but they weren't ready with anonymous threesomes yet. They weren't willing to cede Dante any ground. "You've never asked."

He raised his eyebrows. "I guess I haven't. Aureli, can I be honest with you?"

"Were you not honest before?"

"No-- you know I-- that's not what-- I was honest, but--" Dante paused and let out a breathy chuckle. "You've got me on the back foot here, Aureli. Just, I don't think I'm ready to see you with someone else. You make me feel a little… greedy."

"So I'm supposed to dedicate myself to you while you fuck your way through the palace?"

"No-- I'm not saying that. I'm saying that when I'm with  _ you  _ I want to be with  _ you _ ." He put his hands on Aureli's shoulders. "You can do what pleases you, but when I'm around,  _ I  _ want to be the one pleasing you. You're someone special to me, Aureli." He pulled Aureli in for an embrace, Aureli instinctively reached their arms around him and started to stroke his back. "Look at you, you've got me in a puddle at your feet. I can guarantee that its a first for this palace."

Aureli smirked. Even if they were upset, he could still make them laugh. Similarly, they kind of liked having Dante grovel a little.

"I have to say, I like having you to myself too. We work pretty well together." Aureli could almost feel Dante's mood lighten through his fingertips.

"Can you forgive this 'ol palace doorknob?" He pulled himself out of the hug but kept his hands around Aureli's waist so he could see their reaction.

"I'm sorry, doorknob?" They chuckled.

"Yeah, everyone gets a turn." He was trying to stifle a laugh.

Watching him try not to laugh was almost funnier than his joke but it made Aureli crack. They both started laughing before Aureli interrupted Dante with a kiss. A long kiss, a make-up kiss. "Okay, I forgive the doorknob. On one condition."

"Anything, Aureli."

They clicked the lock on the door shut. They strolled back towards the bed and laid themselves across it.

"The visiting dignitary may have left you a gift last night, but I fear you never opened your present." Aureli ran two fingers across their cinched waist. "I hope you weren't trying to offend."

"Oh of course not, just saving it for the right time."

"Clock's ticking, Dante. We wouldn't want to leave them waiting."


End file.
